One third of lost data incidents are a result of human error, and about an equal amount are the result of media failure. In either case, it is important to back up your data daily. It seems obvious, but this simple action can save you a lot of time and money in the long run.

Taking a few other simple steps can safeguard your data:

Create a backup an time you upgrade any system, no matter how simple the upgrade seems

Use up-to-date firewalls and virus protection Scan all emails and data for viruses

Use a thermometer monitoring software to keep track of your hard drive temperature during use (your drive has a built in thermometer)

Completely power down when moving laptops

If your hard drive is making clicking, grinding, or whirring noises, you should shut down your computer immediately. You MUST avoid the temptation to keep trying to recover your data. Do not use utilities that you can find online, as these may lose your data permanently.

Generally, the longer you try to get your data off of a drive that's making strange sounds, the lower your chances will be of recovering your data. Severe or complete data loss could result from repeated attempts to recover data, so make sure you know what you're doing (if you're reading this, you probably should not attempt it yourself). If you have critical data, you should go to a professional shop like pcXmedics to have it recovered.

If your computer stopped working suddenly, chances are, your data are still safe. In this case, you don't need data recovery, but simply data extraction, which is technically simpler and economically easier on your wallet. Read our blog post on data recovery vs data extraction.